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ARGOSystems Smart Antenna System In Trials At Bell Atlantic Mobile Cell Site

ARGOSystems, Inc., a subsidiary of The Boeing Company, announced that its new AutoClear smart antenna interference reduction system is in trials at a Bell Atlantic Mobile cell site in New York City. AutoClear is designed to improve the call quality for wireless customers.

Throughout the trials, AutoClear has proven its ability to be quickly integrated into existing wireless infrastructure, successfully go "live," and provide measurable and verifiable improvements in voice-call clarity while reducing the number of dropped calls.

"Bell Atlantic Mobile is always striving to deploy new technologies to improve the service we provide our customers," said Ted Hoffman, vice president of Technology Development at Bell Atlantic Mobile. "AutoClear gives us an excellent tool to further enhance our service quality."

Bell Atlantic Mobile is the largest wireless provider on the East Coast, serving close to five million customers. The initial deployment of AutoClear at the company's site is significant as well as challenging because the New York City area is regarded as one of the most severe radio frequency environments in the U.S. and requires seamless integration into the existing wireless infrastructure. Incorporating digital technology in its design enabled the AutoClear smart antenna system to demonstrate dramatic improvements in voice quality and a reduction in the number of calls dropped from the system due to co-channel interference.

"We're very pleased with the results of our trial deployment," said Bob Hockett, general manager of ARGOSystems' Commercial Communications Division. "This deployment is in one of the most challenging markets in the world because of the high concentration of cellular users in the area.

"In this trial, we were able to show improvements of upwards of 40 decibels. The results of AutoClear testing in this demanding environment show that its use resulted in dramatically improved service to customers through improved voice call quality and fewer dropped calls. This improved call quality means increased satisfaction for the cellular user as well as increased revenues for the carriers - both very important in today's competitive wireless arena.

"I'm confident that our participation in trials with other major carriers in neighboring markets later this summer will yield additional data consistent with these results," Hockett added.

AutoClear easily installs into new or existing cell sites and uses existing antennas. Incorporating advances in digital signal processing (DSP) technology, AutoClear does not require the installation of new antenna - a major advantage in markets where installation is restricted by the costs of new construction, permits and zoning considerations. The application of DSP technology in AutoClear enables complex adaptive beamforming processes to be used at the cellular base station. AutoClear uses a non-proprietary interface that is compatible with most existing cell-site equipment, including Lucent, Ericsson, Motorola, and Nortel and can easily be installed and integrated into carrier cell sites.